Children's Playhouse of Maryland Opens GREASE: SCHOOL VERSION, 5/4

Children's Playhouse of Maryland, in residence at the Community College of Baltimore County, Essex, brings "Grease: School Version" to the stage at 1 p.m. weekends beginning Saturday, May 4 through Sunday, May 19. An additional performance at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 12 will be sign-language interpreted by students in the CCBC Interpreter Preparation program. All performances will be held in the J Building Lecture Hall (J-137) at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Blvd. in Rosedale, Md. The J-Building Lecture Hall at CCCB Essex is a wheelchair-accessible facility. Please request accommodations at the time of ticket purchase. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-ARTS (2787) or online at https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=4917. Tickets are available at the door, space permitting. Advanced purchase is recommended.

The CPM production of the musical features 25 student performers from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County, and Montgomery County. Lead roles are Thomas Gardner of Joppatown, Md. as Greaser Danny Zuko and Nicole Smith of Timonium, Md. as 'good girl' Sandy Dumbrowski. Also featured are Maddie Ulevich of Phoenix, Md. as Rizzo and Josh Starkey of Aberdeen, Md. as Kenickie. Other players are: Bailey Drew Lehfeldt of Clarksburg, Md. (Marty), Erin Sullivan of Edgewood, Md. (Jan), Tiffany Flaharty of Abingdon, Md. (Frenchy), Charlie Holt of Kingsville, Md. (Doody), Zach Miller of Baltimore City, Md. (Roger), Josh Schoff of Dundalk, Md. (Sonny), Amanda Ellifritz of Essex, Md. (Ms. Lynch), Rachel Miller of Baltimore City, Md. (Patty Simcox), Yaki Weingarten of Pikesville, Md., (Eugene), Joey Bird of Cockeysville, Md. (Vince Fontaine/Ensemble), Brady Fritz of Bel Air, Md. (Johnny Casino/Ensemble), Gino Cardoni of Middle River, Md. (Teen Angel/Ensemble) and Eva Hellerbach of Baltimore City, Md. (Cha Cha/Female Ensemble).

Other members in the Male Ensemble are: John Endres of Baltimore City, Md., Ilan Komrad of Reisterstown, Md. and Johnathon O'Neal of Baltimore City, Md. Adrienne Alignay of Middle River, Md., Victoria Caldwell of Joppatown, Md., Kelsey Feeney of Bel Air, Md. and Nicole Mueller and Emily Wheeler of Cockeysville, Md. are in the Female Ensemble. Liz Boyer Hunnicutt directs this production. Julie Parrish serves as the Musical Director and Amanda Dickson is the Choreographer.

"Grease: School Version" with music, lyrics and book by Jim Jacobs and WarRen Casey pays homage to the late 50s and 60s -- Think bobby socks, black leather jackets and drive-in restaurants. The plot explores the whole new generation of 'Pink Ladies' and 'Burger Palace Boys' at Rydell High. This is the era of greasers, slumber parties, the hand jive, and lots of singing and dancing. As greaser Danny and good girl Sandy try to recapture the romance of their "Summer Nights," the rest of the gang sings and dances its way through songs like "Greased Lightnin'," "It's Raining on Prom Night," "Beauty School Dropout" and "We Go Together." This is the vintage music in the style of Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Elvis Presley that became the soundtrack for an entire generation.

For additional information, call the Box Office at 443-840-2787 or the CPM Administrative Office at 443-840-2426. For directions, go to www.ccbcmd.edu. Children's Playhouse of Maryland, Inc. is a not for profit community theatre dedicated to youth performers ages 18 and under. Visit the CPM website at www.cpmarts.org.